When I was growing up, we hatched some eggs in a homemade incubator as part of a school science project and the next thing you know, we had chickens in our backyard along with fresh eggs too!

When you’re a kid, there’s something really magical about having chickens in your backyard and ours were named Inky and Binky. Inky was a jet black hen and her name described her inky black coloring and Binky was a white Rooster and well….I have absolutely no idea how we arrived at his name, but maybe it had something to do with the whole rhyming thing that kids often love?

What I do know, is that we quickly learned that having a Rooster in your backyard in a residential area is not really all that awesome and your neighbors will probably agree with this opinion. Roosters are only necessary if you want to fertilize eggs to hatch them into baby chicks, so if it’s just fresh eggs that you’re after and you live in a residential area, scrap any plans to add a Rooster to your coop!

Although it’s true that Rooster’s will provide some protection for your flock, because they’ll sound a loud alert if there’s any danger near, you can opt instead to take some extra safety precautions with which coop you choose and where you place it in your yard in order to help keep your flock safe, without needing to endure the annoying crow of a Rooster at 4 am.

So if you decide to forge ahead with the idea of having a chicken coop in your backyard, your whole family is in for a really fun experience. And to add to the experience, you’re going to also love having super fresh eggs for your family to enjoy too. The benefits of super fresh organically grown eggs, versus 3 week old eggs that you might buy in the grocery store, are already pretty well known.

So if you want to learn more about chicken coops, check out Reinventing the Chicken Coop as a great place to get some ideas for building your own DIY chicken coop. There are many different designs offered in this book, so the hardest part will be deciding which model to choose.

But if you don’t have the time to build your own DIY chicken coop, you’re in luck, because there are also several models of ready made chicken coops available for purchase too.

This “A” frame Chicken Coop is strong, but relatively lightweight, so you can move it easily if you need to. It’s approximately 7 feet long, and features handmade wood latches, 3 doors and a large side door for super easy clean up.

Image: etsy.com

This Briar Chicken Coop House is hand built from solid pine and certified sustainable and free from harmful glues or chemicals. It’s large cleanout door simplifies maintenance of it’s easy care linoleum floor and it’s designed with plenty of ventilation for lots of fresh air for your flock.

Image: williams-sonoma.com

Or you might like the look and smart design of this Craftsman Coop that houses 12-15 chickens and features 6 nest boxes for ample egg laying space. The entire coop floor on this model is made of “glasboard” which is a fiberglass-reinforced plastic that’s super easy to clean and won’t mold, mildew or rot.